Well miracles do happen! We caught a fish! A lovely sized
Mahi Mahi. This year, if Mel and I had to rely on our fishing skills to feed
ourselves, well we would have, I think, starved to death. Yes we have caught
barracuda but we have been reluctant to eat them (possible ciguatera poisoning)
although many of the locals of the Caribbean Islands do eat them.
Monday and part of Tuesday was spent preparing for our
sail to Trinidad. We had been watching the weather for some time and Tuesday
afternoon through to Wednesday evening looked just right for us to sail south
to Trinidad – we were a bit concerned about the height of the waves. Well, I
should say I was – I don’t mind 4 – 6 feet (1 – 1.8m) but when the weather
prediction websites etc. say 5 – 7 feet, then I am a bit more nervous than
usual. Yes, when I am thinking logically and am rational, I am confident that
Passages can handle “rough” sea conditions as she is an Ocean going vehicle.
Island Packets in the yachting world are called the Cadillac’s of ocean sailing
vessels. Unfortunately at times logic goes straight out the window/portholes!
We left Mount Hartman Bay/Secret Harbour as planned at
1.00pm Tuesday. The first 1 ½ hours are always my worst as I am trying to get
used to the motion of the boat and we were sailing over some rather huge waves
and swells. I think the wave heights and swells were much more than the
predicted 5 -7 feet but then I had to also remind myself that on the south
coast of Grenada, it is known to be rather choppy and rough as it is rather
shallow for quite a distance out to sea.
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After the
excitement of catching the fish, we settled down to prepare for the night. We
knew on our way down to Trinidad, we would pass two HUGE Oil rigs, the Hibiscus
and the Poinsettia Rigs. We had read that there was no way we could miss them
as they stood out like giant Christmas trees and how right that was. They are
HUGE! We sailed in between the two rigs, 2 -3 nm away from the Hibiscus Rig and
about 12 nm away from the Poinsettia Rig.
Our AIS was working overtime as it was telling us that
there were tankers around. In fact at one time, I was convinced we were going
to collide into one as the AIS kept on warning us that we were going to collide
into one. We didn’t obviously as we altered course – well the current which was
coming from the east, kept on pushing us west. We were reluctant to go too far
west, as we wanted to keep as far away from Venezuela as possible. There have
been some issues with fishermen from Venezuela causing “problems” with yachts
which we did not want to experience if we didn’t have to.
In the past when Mel and I have done an overnight
passage, we have had all good intentions of taking turns to do proper watches
but it never seems to work out that way. Not sure why so this time we were
determined to do proper watches. By 10.30pm I was yawning away so went downstairs
to sleep for a few hours while Mel kept watch.
At about 12.30am, I awoke and it was Mel’s turn to sleep
while I did a watch, which I did until 3.00am. Mel slept in the cockpit. At
3.00am I went for another 1 ½ hours of sleep and then went back on watch so Mel
could have a few hours more. By 6.30am we could see the coast of Trinidad and
Venezuela but we were both feeling quite refreshed from having a few hours of
sleep.
As we sailed closer to the coast of Trinidad, a dolphin
swam in our bow but unfortunately it didn’t stay too long as the wind died and
we started bobbing up and down. After about an hour of “bobbing” we decided to
turn the engine on and motor through the cut called Bocas De Monas passing
Scotland Bay, where we hope to spend some time in, along the way.
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| Chaguaramas |
We made our way to Chaguaramas which is the main entry port for cruisers. First impressions – it is crowded, dirty, smelly and very busy.
We had been told and we had read that we had to tie up at
the Customs and Immigrations dock in order to enter Trinidad and Tobago at the
Chaguaramas docks and that the whole checking in procedure can be tedious.
We made our way to the Customs and Immigration dock only
to find that there was no space for us to tie up, so we turned around and
circled the main Chaguaramas anchorage hoping that by the time we had finished
circling the Customs and Immigration dock would be clear. No such luck!
We saw a mooring ball and thought we would attach
ourselves to the ball but we were told that you had to pay to moor there.
Eventually after an hour we decided to just drop anchor as we were wasting
fuel.
.MP4)
We dropped anchor - almost all of the chain as the
holding in Chaguaramas is awful – the bottom is just mud and there is nothing
for the anchor to grab or dig into.
Mel phoned the Customs and Immigration office to tell
them that we had arrived and that we were unable to tie up at the Customs and
Immigration dock as it was full only to be told that they were conducting some
training at the dock so we would not be able to tie up. Great! We put the
dinghy down and Mel went to check us in while I waited on board, ready to react
if the boat should start to drag.
We were told that just the Master of the vessel needed to
check in but when Mel went to check us in, he was told that we both had to be
present. Oh dear! As mentioned the checking in procedure was tedious as Mel had
to fill 4 forms in, in triplicate! They even had carbon paper – when was the
last time we used carbon paper? There were no computers to make the whole
procedure a lot easier and quicker!! I think we have just got used to doing
most things online and were just shocked that Trinidad which is meant to be
quite a modern country, compared to some of the other islands we have visited,
the whole checking in procedure was just so outdated! After about an hour, we were
eventually all checked in.
While we are in Trinidad and Tobago, we have to let
Customs and Immigrations know our every move. If we want to sail to Scotland
Bay, which we intend doing, we have to come into the Customs and Immigrations
Office and inform them. When we leave to sail to Tobago we have to go through
the same procedure. Such a nuisance!!
As soon as we could, we pulled the anchor up and moved to
the Carenage which is around the corner from Chaguaramas and is meant to be
cleaner, quieter and more pleasant.
Mel and I were exhausted so we decided to motor to the
Carenage anchorage so we could put down our anchor and have a little snooze.
The anchorage here in Carenage is also quite dirty and
oily but the holding is a little better and we are protected in most directions
from the wind.
Thursday – the weather was awful so we stayed on board
which was good as we could monitor the anchor and the holding.
Friday we went exploring around Chaguaramas – there are
plenty of boat yards, Budget Marine and many other businesses associated with
boats.
Saturday – we were told about the amazing market in Port
of Spain so we caught the local public transport and headed into Port of Spain
to look for the market.
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After the market we walked down to the main Boulevard –
the Brain Lara Boulevard before heading back to the boat as we could see the
weather was about to change and a HUGE thunderstorm was fast approaching.
Sunday was another – stay on the boat kind of day, as the
weather wasn’t great. Mel and I eventually went for a walk as we wanted to see
the new Chaguaramas Boardwalk, but it was a little further than what we had
anticipated.
So here we are in Trinidad – Have a great week.
Love
Captain Mel and Admiral Caryn/xx
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| At the market |
